Wednesday 31 December 2008

Christmas stars & new year wishes

Well, I'm back again with my very last project for Christmas & 2008 too. Wow! Where did the year go? I realised that I started blogging last December, so I guess it's my blog-iversary too (hmmm, maybe a celebration is called for)...but I digress. Back to the project – a star card. Earlier in the month I saw this wonderful star on Shelli Gardner's blog, which was a gift from an Aussie demonstrator, Felicity Gray. I absolutely loved it, so when I found this tutorial on Jackie Topa's blog, I HAD to have a go at making some... & couldn't stop. Here's a 5 pointed version.
I've used Holiday Thyme designer paper for both stars, but they'd look beautiful with so many others too. 6 panels are needed if you want to alternate patterns with 2 different papers, or use the same paper in reverse, but I like how 5 points look too. I also added a greeting panel to one side of the base, so I could add a Christmas message.


After I made some, I thought, hmmm, they would be lovely to use year after year. So, to keep them safe, I made a little pizza box to give & store them in. The box is stamped with the star from 'Fun & Fast Notes' & Merry Christmas from 'Occasional Greetings'. I wish I'd remembered about that star stamp before now though, as it would have been beautiful on Christmas cards! Oh well, there's always next year.So, that's all for 2008 except for a LOT of thanks from me....

To my truly wonderful husband Damien, & beautiful girl, Cara, I feel very blessed to be part of your lives & I love you both so very much . Thanks also to Damo for your endless support of my 'crazy hobby' & messy stamping room (errr, home office - sorry!) ;o)

Love & hugs to all my friends & especially to Ngai, Nette, Wendy & Kellie, for so much love, friendship & encouragement. Love you girls!

To my extended family, thanks so much to everyone for their love, support & a welcome ear through a tough year for us all.

To my Stampin' Up family (up, side & down) Janine, Kellie (again), Leanne, Cathy, Andrea & Lynda. I'm so glad Stampin' Up has brought us together & I'm really looking forward to sharing the journey with you all again next year...& to Sam, you rock girl! - I'm so glad we met & hope to share more fun with you soon.

To all my Stampin' Up! blog buddies (so much talent, so little space...but especially, Karen, Sarah & Chrissie) who inspire me so much, thanks for sharing your ideas & creations. You're all amazing!

Thanks also to everyone who's visited this year & an extra 'mwa' to everyone who's left a comment (or lots....esp Chrissie). I love getting comments & really appreciate your thoughts.

Wow, I didn't think I had so much to say!
So finally, I hope you all have a fun new year celebration & a wonderful year ahead, full of love, happiness & many blessings... and a happy hogmanay to all my Scottish family!

Take care & best wishes & hope to see you here again soon in 2009.
Love Di

Supplies:
Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes, Occasional Greetings
Card/paper: Holiday Thyme designer paper (retired), cranberry crisp (retired), old olive & very vanilla card.
Ink: old olive & cranberry crisp ink pads
Accessories: organdy ribbon (retired)

Monday 29 December 2008

I {heart} boxes

As promised (although a bit later than planned), here are the boxes I've made this month. Once I started, it was hard to stop, as they're so easy & the results are so cute. Most were samples I made to show at my Christmas gifts class, some were little gifts. All the boxes use the same basic principles & were custom sized to fit the items inside. Anyway, get comfortable, as this is a looong post.

Wintergreen BoxesI really like the patterns & colours in the Wintergreen paper pack....(I know what you're thinking, anything with celery!). While some are Christmas themed, many can be used all year round. I used my yummy celery grosgrain & artichoke grosgrain too to finish them off.
Mini Card BoxThis is a set of 4 gift cards that fit into a little sliding lid box. The stamps are from Season of Joy & Many Merry Messages.Choccy Boxes
These are filled with Dove choccies sandwiched between punched square scallops (a new punch in the Summer Mini). The enjoy stamp is from 'Be Happy' & the merry greeting is from 'Merry Merry'.
Dashing Boxes

Choccy Explosion BoxThis little explosion box filled with 4 decorated choccies is one of my faves. I followed the pattern of the spotty paper to create the lid & made a celery explosion box base to match.Tiny Pizza Box
I followed the Dashing paper pattern again to work out the dimensions of this tiny pizza box , which is filled with Dove choccies & a Stampin' Up!® magnet from Convention.Season of Joy Pizza BoxThis was a larger pizza box filled with more dove choccies decorated with circle scallops.
Holiday Thyme Boxes
I had lots of Holiday Thyme paper left from last Christmas, which I really liked (ahhh memories of cranberry crisp....& did you know the prints in this pack are the same as Wintergreen?), so I made some boxes with it too...as well as one more project I'll have to show you next time.
Holiday Thyme Pizza Box
Holiday Thyme Ink Pad Box
This is a larger rectangular version of a pizza box, which I made up to perfectly fit a Stampin' Up! ink pad. Phew, that was a lot of pics to add! If you'd like more information on anything here, just drop me an e-mail. I'll be back with one more & probably my favourite find of the season.
Back soon!
Di

Supplies:

Wintergreen boxes:
Stamps: Season of Joy, Many Merry Messages, Merry Merry
Card/Paper: wintergreen designer paper, certainly celery, sage shadow, always artichoke & whisper white card
Ink: blue bayou, sage shadow, always artichoke
Accessories: ¾ in celery grosgrain, ¼ inch grosgrain – artichoke, celery, white, artichoke brads (Rich Regals pack)
Tools: punches – scallop circle, square scallop, 1 3/8 in & 1 ¼ in circles, horizontal slot
Dashing BoxesStamps: Season of Joy, Merry Merry, Priceless, Occasional Greetings
Card/Paper: Dashing designer paper, certainly celery, real red, old olive & very vanilla card
Ink: old olive & real red ink pads & markers, summer sun (marker)
Accessories: ¾ in vanilla grosgrain ¼ inch grosgrain – real red
Tools: punches – scallop circle, 1 3/8 in & 1 ¼ in circles

Holiday Thyme BoxesStamps: Occasional GreetingsCard/Paper: Holiday Thyme designer paper (retired), cranberry card (retired), old olive cardInk: old olive ink padAccessories: organdy ribbon (retired)Tools: punches – large & small tag, horizontal slot

Friday 26 December 2008

Merry Christmas Everyone

I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas, shared with your nearest & dearest. I've had a generally relaxing couple of days with family, after a blur like rest of December. Like the beautiful song I heard sung at church on Christmas Day though, (truly wonderful Christine & Fairlie), "All is Well" in the greater scheme.

Many things I'd planned for this month didn't quite happen as planned, including blogging, finishing a new design for my Christmas cards & actually mailing any cards...except a lucky few that went with parcels. I'm hoping to send some out anyway, but if this doesn't happen, please know that I send the best of wishes to all my family, friends, customers & blog buddies for a wonderful Christmas & new year.

Even though Christmas is becoming a memory, I thought I'd share some final Christmas projects with you. These could easily be adapted to suit any other occasion too!

Christmas SAS Card – Crazy for Pomegranate


This was the 2nd card from my last Christmas card SAS in November. The colours are purely pomegranate, river rock & old olive & I used part of the tree image from Crazy for Christmas, which is one of my very first & favourite sets. (It's also 20% for a few more days off this month – see this post). At the class, all the ladies made versions with the bauble & present stamps in the set, which looked great too....the colours are off a bit so it doesn't really do it justice (what is it about river rock?)

Christmas Gift Ideas Class

These are the projects we made at my Christmas Ideas class on 6 Dec.First, we all made my fave patterned paper gift card folders using some 'Dashing' designer paper & stamps from 'Big Bold Birthday'.

The second project was a co-ordinated gift box, tag & gift card. Here are two I made:I wanted to show everyone how quick & easy it is to custom make boxes to fit the gift you're giving using a couple of different box making techniques. The box base (15 x 15 x 5cm, or approx 6 x 6 x 2 inches) & gift card are cut from one A4 sheet. You could also make a tag from the leftover, but I needed just a little more for the oversize tag we made. The lid was from part of a 12 x 12 sheet (with plenty of leftovers). If you'd like any other information, or the pattern template for the box & lid, just drop me an e-mail.

I made lots more little boxes, filled with cards & chocs to show everyone how to adapt the principles to make their own custom boxes. There's too many to show you tonight though, so I'll try to get back tomorrow or Sunday with those.
Supplies:
Crazy for Christmas
Stamps: Crazy for Christmas, Season of Joy
Card: purely pomegranate, river rock, old olive, very vanilla
Ink: purely pomegranate, old olive
Accessories: pomegranate double stitched ribbon
Tools: bone folder (distressed edge)

Gift Folder
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday
Card: real red, old olive, very vanilla card, Dashing Designer paper
Ink: old olive real red
Accessories: gold brads, real red & old olive 3/4 inch grosgrain ribbon
Tools: paper piercer, mat pack
Box, Card & Tag
Stamps: Many Merry Messages
Card:Wintergreen designer paper, Certainly celery, always artichoke, soft sky, sage shadow card
Ink: Always artichoke
Accessories: certainly celery 3/4 inch grosgrain ribbon
Tools: large & small oval punch (card), horizontal slot punch (tag)

Wednesday 3 December 2008

Live Your Dream projects

I've been waiting for ages to show you these fab projects we made at the last Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Regional training day...but finally here they are. Training days are always huge fun, but this one had the added excitement of getting a first peek at some of the goodies in the Summer Mini. The stamps are from the 'Live Your Dreams' set, the paper is from the co-ordinating Afternoon Tea' paper pack. I also loved the colour combination of choc chip, guava, wild wasabi & soft sky.
This was my favourite of all the projects. It's a little card folder with 3 love note cards & envelopes. Isn't that paper scrumptious...& did you see the square scallop punch? This was also where I got the idea for this larger note card folder.
This is a matchbook type card, complete with edge scalloped with the new scallop edge punch. It's such a simple card, but I think the textured cardstock, metal tag & ribbon make it really special.This is a long tent fold card. We used the flower stem to make the branch for birdie....& I know I'm not usually a big tearer, but I really like it here.Finally, I made some more love note cards with the leftover scraps. There's something about fiddling about with little bits of paper that I really like.
Anyway, hope you liked this peek at what we got up to at Regionals. I'll try to post my second Christmas SAS project tomorrow...once I take some new photos.

Bye for now
Di
Supplies:All ProjectsStamps: Live Your Dream
Card:choc chip, groovy guava, wild wasabi, soft sky, confetti white card. Afternoon Tea designer paper
Ink: wild wasabi, choc chip, groovy guava
Accessories, round metal tags, silver brads, dimesionals, groovy guava & soft sky ribbon, choc chip grosgrain ribbon, choc chip taffeta ribbon, hemp twine
Tools: square scallop punch, scallop edge punch, 1 3/8 & 1 inch circle punch, mat pack & paper piercer

Tuesday 2 December 2008

Tie up some Christmas Savings

Not organised for Christmas yet? – no problems. Stampin' Up! have announced a new offer to help you complete your Christmas projects just in time.
All through December, you can purchase the 12 Christmas stamp sets, calendars and accessories listed below at 20% off, when you spend $20 on regular catalogue merchandise....Oh & sorry about the table. It will just not line up for me!
Item #...Page..Description................................Reg Price*.Offer Price*108790...27....Festive Favourites stamp set............ $45.95......$36.76
108772...28....Crazy for Christmas stamp set...........$39.95.....$31.96
110244...29....Snow Flurries stamp set...................$20.95.....$16.76
108930...43....Tag Time stamp set.........................$53.95.....$43.16
108869...111...Many Merry Messages stamp set.........$64.95.....$51.96
103604...133...12" x 12" Days-to-Remember Calendar..$20.95.....$16.76
104144...133...6" x 6" Days-to-Remember Calendar.....$18.95.....$15.16
109663...138...Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit........$36.95.....$29.56
112670...143...Three for You Punch Box.................. $85.95.....$68.76
109055...146...Very Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon........$14.95.....$11.96
109050...146...Certainly Celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon...$14.95....$11.96
103372...147...White Square Aluminium Metal Edge tags.$7.50....$6.00

*excluding shipping & handling
Marker Update: There's still time to purchase single Stampin' Write markers for $4.95, as the offer has been extended until 14 December, so don't miss the opportunity to add more of your favourite colours to your stash.
Contact me for more information or to place an order. I WILL be back tomorrow with some Summer Mini projects to show you tomorrow. Sadly, housework got ahead of posting today!
Di J

Monday 1 December 2008

What time is it? – Summer time

I'm back with another song title post & much better, some new goodies – YAY, the new Stampin' Up!® Summer Mini Catalogue is here & boy is it a goodie. Lots of gorgeous new sets & accessories...& NEW PUNCHES! You all know I have a bit of a punch obsession, so I was overjoyed to see the scallop edge punch & square scallop punch.

You can view the catty in all its awesomeness online, by clicking on the picture above, or if you'd like a free copy, just contact me. I'll be back with some Summer Mini projects to whet your appetite.
Byeee for now.
Di
PS: Oh, & for those without daughters...the post title is a song from High School Musical 2...one of Cara's favourite & most played CD's.

Pink Petal Card Folder

Here's a fun project idea that I think makes a great gift at Christmas or any time.The card folder is filled with 4 co-ordinated note sized cards & envelopes (which are just a little smaller than normal size cards). I've continued my pink theme with 'Pick a Petal', & 'Loves Me' designer paper (retired) from last year's Summer Mini. The folder is purely pomegranate card & of course the ribbon is pomegranate double stitched. A big thank you to Sarah for sharing the butterfly card idea in her cute SAS cards (love 'em Sahr!). If you'd like any more info on this project, or you'd like to come to a class to make one, let me know.

If you'd like to see some more fab 'Pick a Petal' ideas, check out Sarah's gorgeous Christening card & happy2stamp4ever's card set & if you want even more, check out the thousand plus cards in the Splitcoast Pick a Petal gallery. This is clearly one very popular set!

Supplies:
Stamps: Pick a Petal, Short & Sweet, For a Friend (lvl 1 hostess)
Cards/Paper: Note cards & envelopes, Purely pomegranate, regal rose, rose red & whisper white card, 'Loves Me' designer paper (retired)
Ink: rose red, pretty in pink, close to cocoa
Accessories: purely pomegranate double stitched ribbon, whisper white grosgrain ribbon, pretty in pink button (Soft Subtles® pack), pretty in pink & silver brads
Tools: word window punch, ¾ inch circle punch

Saturday 29 November 2008

Blooms gift certificate pockets

This is a pocket card I've made using some Blooms die cuts & Summer Picnic paper from the Spring Mini. Like this pocket card, they can be include any sort of greeting or photo, but in this case, they're extra special as they include gift certificates that you can give or receive to friends or family members who's like some Stampin' Up!® goodies....& let's face it, who wouldn't? ;o).
I can prepare certificates for any amount, so, if you'd like to give one to a crafting friend or family member, just contact me for more information. Of course, you can always provide my details to your partner, friend or family member too, if you'd like to receive one yourself.
Each folder will vary according to the flowers & paper I have available. This is another folder in a different combination of Summer Picnic paper & Blooms.Of course, I can also make a Christmas themed folder if you'd prefer...note to self -must make some more to post!
Hope you all have a good weekend.
Best wishes
Di

Supplies:
Pocket 1:Stamps: One of a Kind
Card/Paper: bashful blue, whisper white, old olive, real red, Summer Picnic paper, Blooms die cut flowers
Ink: real red marker
Accessories: real red brads (Bold Brights® pack), dimensionals
Tools: large & small oval punches, 1 inch circle punch, piercing tool & mat

Pocket 2:
Stamps: One of a Kind Card/Paper: pumpkin pie, whisper white, old olive, Summer Picnic paper, Blooms die cut flowersInk: pumpkin pie marker Accessories: more mustard brad (Earth Elements® pack), dimensionals Tools: large & small oval punches, ¼ inch circle punch, piercing tool & mat

Friday 28 November 2008

Always Anniversary


I'm taking a short break from Christmas to show you some more Spring Mini projects before the mini ends on Sunday. This is the card I made for my truly wonderful hubby, Damien, for our 16th wedding anniversary, which was earlier this month.It doesn't seem that long since our big day, but when I look at our wedding photos, we look soooo young...so apparently it wasn't yesterday. All I know is that I adore him as much, & probably even more than I did then. It's also a big month for Damien, as it's his birthday....& the big 40 this year too! I'll show you his birthday card another time. Both of these occasions have meant card challenges for me, as I generally struggle a bit with masculine cards. For this card, I decided to use the 'Always' set from the Spring Mini catalogue, teamed with some close to cocoa designer Prints paper. It's a very simple card, but I thought it turned out quite elegant & Damien liked it, so I'm calling that a win.
Anyway, I really hope 'Always' makes it to the 2009 catalogue, as it's such a beautiful & flexible set, but we will have to wait until March/April to find out. If you can't take that stress, you only have another 2 days & approx 2 hours to order it before it goes.
I'll be back soon with another spring mini farewell project.
Bye for now
Di
Supplies:
Stamps: Always
Card/Paper: choc chip, very vanilla, Close to cocoa Prints paper
Ink: choc chip
Accessories: choc chip taffeta ribbon
Tools: ¼ inch punch

Thursday 27 November 2008

More joy and scraps

Here's another version of my SAS card, this time with a river rock base & a touch of real red. Again, I highlighted part of the greeting images in olive.
While I'm on a river rock roll, I made these 2 cards last Saturday morning with some scraps I had left on my desk after cutting all the SAS kits for my last class. They literally took about 5 minutes each & I really liked how they turned out, so I thought you guys might like to see them too (helllooo to those who are still following my irregular posting). The greeting in both is from 'Occasional Greetings' – a must have set IMHO.If you have any questions about anything, just drop me an e-mail.
As it's my gorgeous hubby Damien's 40th birthday today, I'll be busy celebrating with him today, so I've scheduled these posts in advance. If anything looks weird, I'll fix them later!
Hope you have a happy day!
Di J
SuppliesSeason of rock 'n ribbonStamps: Season of Joy
Card/paper: River rock, old olive, real red, very vanilla, Dashing designer paper
Ink: real red, old olive
Accessories: real red grosgrain ribbon

River stripes & snowflake 1 & 2Stamps: Season of Joy, Occasional Greetings
Card/paper: River rock, old olive, real red, very vanilla, Dashing designer paper
Ink: real red, old olive

November Season of Joy SAS

As promised, I'm back with the first card from my final SAS for the year, which was last Saturday. 'Season of Joy' & 'Dashing' paper are the stars of this project, ably supported by real red. I also want to send a huge thanks again to Kellie, who ran the class with me again. Kellie, you're the best!

The card is super simple & quick – perfect for the rapidly ticking countdown to Christmas. I have 2 variations to show you:
This the extra simple version – just add some striped 'Dashing' paper, a strip of olive & 'Season of Joy' greeting stamped in real red. I've added some real red brads too, which we didn't do in the class... Sorry, I forgot to take a pic before I added them!This version has some extra stamped detail, but is still very quick....& I looove that spot & stripe paper! I stamped another greeting in old olive, then punched & cut out some of the elements & mounted them on the real red greeting with dimensionals.
You could also easily make the greeting panel multi-coloured by just colouring in different parts with a real red & old olive marker.
I have some more quickie cards to show you, as well as the second SAS card, so come back soon.....& please take a mo to leave a comment if you like what you see.....or if you have any suggestions, as I love to hear what you think.
Bye for now
Di
Supplies:
Stamps: Season of Joy
Card/Paper: real red, old olive, very vanilla, Dashing designer paper
Ink: real red, old olive
Tools: ¼ inch circle punch, 7/8 inch circle punch (non SU – shhh)


Wednesday 26 November 2008

Peace & holiday harmony


...& couldn't we all do with a some more peace & harmony! Anyhoo, I'm interrupting the 'Season of Joy' fest for a quick & I think elegant card using the beautiful 'Peaceful Wishes' set & 2 patterned papers from the 'Holiday Harmony' pack in the Spring Mini.I surprised myself with this one, as the colours are not generally really me, but I do like it. The base is river rock (not that you can see it on the front).The river rock mat has been lightly whacked with the edge of my bone folder, which creates a kind of elegant distressed look....& is very therapeutic. Otherwise it's all very simple....& very easy to mass produce. Like 'Season of Joy, the 'Holiday Harmony' paper is only available until the 30th, so let me know if you'd like to order some.
Back with more Season of Joy in the morning. (are you getting the feeling that I love this set!).
Di J
Supplies:
Stamps: Peaceful Wishes
Card/Paper: River rock, very vanilla, Holiday Harmony designer paper
Ink: river rock, always artichoke

Season of joy & forgetfulness

I was looking on my blog for some cards I made with 'Season of Joy' while preparing for my Christmas SAS' back in August & September & realised that I hadn't actually posted them – Oops! So, I thought I'd better get a move on, especially since there's only 4 more days until Season of Joy disappears with the Spring Mini Catalogue (sob!).
Anyway, hope they give you some more Christmas card ideas. I haven't given much information on each, as they're all pretty self explanatory, but if you have any questions, just drop me an e-mail & I'd be happy to help.

I really liked this one. but decided not to 'SAS' it, as Damien (my gorgeous hubby & sounding board) said he didn't think the flower was Christmassy enough (helllooo – poinsettia!). The base has a faux torn edge, which I love doing too.

This is another one I liked, but discounted as a SAS card due to it having too many raised layers & cutting out. I liked elements of this one, but I wasn't totally happy overall....I think it may have been the vanilla (?) The colours didn't photograph well either (grr!) Both this & the previous card led me to this final SAS card though, so it's all good!
Finally & off the ruby & wasabi theme, is a ballet & brilliant blue card I made at the same time as this one. Again, I thought it would take too long as a SAS card, but I do love making window cards. The window is made using 2 punches with the round tab punch. This works beautifully with the scallop punch. The 'joy' greeting is part of the multiple greeting stamp, which I inked using markers.

I'll be back with the first of this month's SAS cards & some other quickie cards, which all use Season of Joy.

Happy stamping!
Di

Supplies:
Poinsettia swirl

Stamps: Season of Joy, So Swirly jumbo wheel
Card: ruby red, garden green, whisper white
Ink: ruby red & wild wasabi in pads, ruby red & garden green marker, ruby red stampin' around cartridge
Tools: jumbo stampin around handle

Layered tree
Stamps: Season of Joy, So Swirly jumbo wheel
Card: ruby red, wild wasabi, whisper white
Ink: wild wasabi ink pad, summer sun marker, ruby red stampin around cartridge, summer sun marker
Tools: jumbo stampin around handle

Swirly tree
Stamps: Season of Joy, So Swirly jumbo wheel
Card: ruby red, wild wasabi, very vanilla
Ink: wild wasabi ink pad, summer sun marker, ruby red stampin around cartridge, summer sun marker
Tools: jumbo stampin around handle, bone folder

Snowflake window
Stamps: Season of Joy
Card: ballet blue, brilliant blue, whisper white
Ink: ballet blue, brilliant blue
Accessories: 2 way glue pen, dazzling diamonds glitter
Tools: round tab punch, scallop circle punch, circle punches: 1 3/8 inch, 1 1/4 inch, 1 inch, corner rounder punch

Tuesday 25 November 2008

Pink Petals for Wendy

It's been busy busy around here & I've been trying to post for this for the past week & clearly not getting anywhere, so I'm just going to be quick otherwise it might never happen. So without any further waffle, this is a card I made earlier this month for my beautiful friend Wendy's birthday (hi Wend J).It includes 3 of my current favourite things:
  • Pick a Petal. This set was a recent purchase/treat & I am so sorry that I didn't get it a long time long ago, as there are so many fab ways to use it.
  • The colour combination - pretty in pink, purely pomegranate, rose red & white. This is quite unusual for me as I'm not usually a pink girl (can anyone say celery?).
  • Spots – love them – enough said!
A quick tip!
The greeting was inked completely with a pretty in pink ink pad, then I used rose red & regal rose markers to colour 'dear' & 'friend'. This is a great quickie way to multi-colour.
Don't forget that single markers can only be purchased until the end of this month, so contact me if you'd like to order your favourites.
I have lots more to show you if I can just get posting, so visit again soon.
Happy Stamping in the meantime.
Di :0)
Supplies:Stamps: Pick a Petal, Occasional Greetings
Card/paper: Purely pomegranate, whisper white, rose red Prints designer paper
Ink: pretty in pink & rose red ink pads, regal rose & rose red stampin' write markers
Accessories: pretty in pink button (Soft Subtles® pack), dimensionals

Saturday 15 November 2008

Embossed blooms


While I was playing around with embossing, I decided to see what the 'Blooms' die cuts would look like embossed & this was the result.Eagle eyes will probably notice It's the same layout as my last workshop cards, but this time, the 'Blooms' die cuts are definitely saying 'look at moi'. It may be a bit hard to see in the pic, but they're really glossy IRL. I think they look great with the striped paper from the 'Jersey shore' pack & the olive stripe & flower circle from the 'Summer Picnic' pack. The base is pumpkin pie (shock horror - all those Kristina challenges have made me like it more!). I thought the happy greeting from 'Polka Dots & Paisley' worked well with the fun, bold look.
Anyone who's tried 'Blooms' knows it's hard to stop playing with them, so I made this card too. I didn't emboss the flowers this time – they look soo good a-la-natural in that textured cardstock anyway. Again, I used the 'Summer Picnic' paper, this time with some always artichoke grosgrain ribbon.
Sadly, 'Blooms' & 'Summer Picnic' paper will only be available until the end of November, when the Spring Mini ends, so contact me before they go if you'd like to order some.
Bye for now.
Di
Supplies:
Embossed Blooms

Stamps: Polka Dots & Paisley
Card/Paper: Whisper white card, Blooms die cuts, Jersey Shore designer paper pack, Summer Picnic designer paper
Ink: old olive, versamark
Accessories: old olive brad, clear embossing powder
Tools: ½ inch circle punch, large oval punch, heat tool

Blooms for you
Stamps: One of a Kind
Card/Paper: Whisper white card, Blooms die cuts, Summer Picnic designer paper
Ink: pumpkin pie stampin' write marker
Accessories: real red brads, clear embossing powder
Tools: large & small oval punches, ½ & ¼ inch circle punches

Friday 14 November 2008

More Fabulous!

Hellooo again finally. Time got away from me...again, but I'm back with the second card we made at my technique class last Saturday.This card is all about the large flower, which I made using the emerging colour technique. I first saw this technique demonstrated by the lovely Vanessa Webb, at the Demonstrator Regional Training day in September. I then found this great tutorial & project by the fab Beate Johns, which I really loved, so I cased it for my project.

Like the last card, I used 'Fabulous Flowers'. The colours I used are groovy guava, so saffron, bashful blue, rose red & pumpkin pie - an unusual combination, but I think it works nicely together here & gives a nice spring feel. To make the flower, I stamped some small flower images on white card, & over stamped the large flower with versamark ink & clear embossed it. Then, I sponged/brayered rose red ink over the top & rubbed off the excess ink resisted by the embossed flower. Then I just cut out the flower & added a rhinestone brad. The base is so saffron & the strip is pumpkin pie. To continue the embossing theme, the greeting was stamped in white & embossed with white embossing powder.

Here's one more 'emerging colour' card. This time, I stamped the 'En Francais' background in groovy guava ink, clear embossed, then brayered over with ruby red ink. I mounted it on a ruby red base & pierced guava mat, added some guava double stitched ribbon & white embossed a greeting from 'Wonderful Words'.If you haven't tried emerging colour yet, have a go with lots of different stamps & colours. It's fun to see the different effects you can create.


If you'd like more information on emerging colour or these cards, just drop me an e-mail. Hope you have a great weekend.
Bye for now
Di

Supplies:
Totally Fabulous
Stamps: Fabulous Flowers, Sincere Salutations
Card: So saffron, pumpkin pie, whisper white
Ink: groovy guava, bashful blue, so saffron, versamark
Accessories: rhinestone brad (Fire pack), bashful blue grosgrain ribbon, clear embossing powder, white embossing powder
Tools: heat tool, brayer

Fabulous Francais
Stamps: Fabulous Flowers, Wonderful Words
Card: ruby red, groovy guava, whisper white
Ink: groovy guava, ruby red
Accessories: rhinestone brad (Fire pack), guava double stitched ribbon, clear embossing powder, white embossing powder
Tools: heat tool, brayer